Disk Management tool is the most common way to delete partitions on a Windows OS. But in some cases, it's impossible to delete a specific partition, like an EFI partition, by using the Disk Management tool, because the "Delete Volume" option is grayed out.

The reason that you cannot delete an EFI partition on a Windows 10, 8, 7 or Vista based computer, is because the EFI partition is protected from deletion by the OS. This happens because the EFI partition is a system partition which contains all the important information, (like the boot loader and the present device drivers) that is needed from the UEFI firmware at the boot time.

This tutorial contains detailed instructions on how to delete an EFI partition on Windows 10, 8, 7 or Vista based computer.

How to Delete an EFI partition in Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 & Vista.

Step 1. Identify in which disk the EFI partition is located.

Notice:Before you continue, unplug all other unneeded storage devices from your computer.

1. Open Disk Management. To to that:

Press Windows key + R to open the run command box.

Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.

2. In Disk Management window locate in which disk belongs the EFI partition that you cannot delete. *

* e.g. In this example the EFI partition belongs to Disk 1

3.Close Disk Management.

Step 2. Delete the EFI Partition.

To delete the EFI partition you can use two (2) different methods:

Method 1: Delete EFI Partition with DISKPART tool.

1. Open an elevated command prompt by going to:

– In Windows 7 & Vista:

Start > All Programs > Accessories

Right-click to “Command prompt” item and choose “Run as administrator”.

– In Windows 10, 8 & 8.1:

Right-click on the Start menu and from the pop-up menu, choose “Command Prompt (Admin)”.

2. Then give the following commands to delete the EFI partition (press Enter after typing each of them).

diskpart

list disk

select disk <number> *

clean

* Note: Replace the "<number>" with the number of the disk that contains the EFI partition.

e.g. At this example, the EFI partition is located on Disk 1, so at this case the command is: select disk 1.

3. When the clean operation is completed, you should receive the following message on your screen: "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk"

4. Type exit to close the DISKPART tool and then close the command window.

5. Finally, open Windows Disk Management tool to initialize the cleaned disk and to create the required partitions.

3. Press Next on all Setup screens to install Easeus Partition Master.

4. When the installation is completed, launch Partition Master free.

5. Right click at the EFI partition and choose Delete Partition.

6. ThenApply from the menu, to apply the changes.

7. When the operation is completed, continue to create the new disk's partition(s) by using Easeus's Partition Master tool or the Windows Disk Management tool.

That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.

If this article was useful for you, please consider supporting us by making a donation. Even $1 can a make a huge difference for us in our effort to continue to help others while keeping this site free:

If you want to stay constantly protected from malware threats, existing and future ones, we recommend that you install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware PRO by clicking below (we
do earn a commision from sales generated from this link, but at no additional cost to you. We have experience with this software and we recommend it because it is helpful and useful):